WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE? Walked into a Barnes & Noble the other day. Signs everywhere said “Bookhaul Blowout! … 50% Off.” It was only for select books, of course, but there were quite a few. First, I should note, a couple of my own books were on a “Local Authors” table. If they’re selling mine, of course I’ll buy theirs. By the way, I try to make my new book purchases at brick-and-mortar stores, because I want them to be around. (Some favorites: North Carolina coastal indies like Buxton Village Books, Books to be Red, Quarter Moon Books, Duck’s Cottage, Island Bookstore, Downtown Books and such, and Richmond indies like…

Now that the members have received the Doctor’s Creek Journal, I can tell you it’s out! One of the cool things I get to do is edit and design this great, twice-yearly publication of the Friends of Portsmouth Island. Portsmouth, of course, is just across the inlet from Ocracoke on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Now deserted, the “Ghost Village of the Outer Banks” still has many buildings standing from the old days, cared for by the FPI and the National Park Service. The stories are amazing. In this new issue, we report on the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, including four pages of photographs. (Hurricanes on the Outer Banks are…